46 Comments
Dec 22Edited

This is wild. A sitting member of congress in an assisted living facility, in a memory care unit, still collecting a salary and presumably weighing in on political issues impacting constituents…and voting. It could be argued that Biden is living in an assisted living facility as well …the White House.

It’s a geriatric free for all in American politics!

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I’m trying to figure out which is worse: A member of Congress with dementia who doesn’t vote, or a member of Congress *with* dementia who does.

And I’m trying to figure out the rationale of the journalist who won’t report on anything that would stop the flow of information from their Congressional sources. Is it any wonder that more and more people have replaced the MSM with independent journalists and social media as sources for their information?

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Edit: This comment is not in relation to the 'mothball mafia' gerontocracy of Congress which Ken is doing a great job of exposing. It's only about the likely care and financial situation.

I live in Texas and my wife is an expert on this stuff. The transfer of the deed was not *necessarily* "elder abuse" or anyone stealing from her. It was probably her family (close or extended depending on who she's got) trying to hide her assets because the state of Texas administers Medicaid, which is what will pay for nursing homes and memory care units. You essentially have to be destitute for this to kick in, and Texas also happens to be one of the strictest states when it comes to searching for any possible assets the person might have to their name. Some states only look at the present situation, other states look back a year. Texas looks back at least 3 years. So in my opinion, this was an attempt to get ready to make the government pay for her LONG TERM nursing home/memory care treatment and preserve their perceived stake in whatever assets she will leave behind after she dies.

Example of how poor you have to be: https://www.texastrustlaw.com/protect-assets-and-maintain-medicaid-eligibility/ and Texas looks back FOUR YEARS. We are planning on getting out of here before either of us might need Medicaid.

So here's what I assume is going on: It's known within this woman's family that she's going down hill. They didn't realize how fast. They know how much a nursing care (or memory care) facility costs and how strict Texas is when administering Medicaid. They began taking steps to hide/transfer her assets as soon as they could, but she declined much more rapidly than they hoped. Meanwhile of course she continues to hold onto her congressional seat. I don't think the two are related other than however much her congressional pension (?) may overlap with, or supplement (or not) whatever care her family is apparently trying to get off the hook for paying for (thus Medicaid which again you have to basically be legally broke to get), longer term. Basically I bet there's a lawyer or healthcare administrator in her family. And they want her money/assets longer term (after she kicks the bucket) so they are trying to avoid the massive expense of this memory/elder care facility coming out of THEIR pockets, i.e., the money they all hope to inherit. In that sense I do guess it is elder abuse. But she's mentally gone anyway.

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You're most likely correct. I thought of a different angle, and already wrote it in a previous comment. That is they traded the house to the facility which Garrison/ Stone might own? Some facilities take the home upfront, no matter how long or short the patient lives and takes a gamble on the patient living a shorter time.

I think your wife's educated guess is more likely though. It seems lame though that the state of Texas couldn't find that out, since Ken so readily discovered that.

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There's more to it, though... why was the deed transfered to a high-ranking CIA operative? Someone with whom it doesn't appear she had a connection, but who she may have encountered as the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

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I love the way you kick hornet's nests. Thanks. You've inspired me to subscribe!

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Thanks! love to light my career prospects on fire for your amusement

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FYI re the purchase price, many jurisdictions don't require it to be stated on the face of the deed, and in those places, consideration of ten dollars is quite common. The actual purchase price is usually listed on a declaration type of form and taxed accordingly. For example, in Georgia, it's $1 per $1000. I'd have to look at Tarrant County to see how they handle it.

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True, thanks

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“Mothball Mafia” is just excellent. Great work, as always, sir!

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And this is why capitalism can’t have nice things.

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Wild. Why wtf was her deed transferred to this guy? Does she not have children or other family?

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Predatory elder abuse is more common than reported throughout the United States; this may be an example of theft from an elder. More reporting is needed here.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah 🕎 Ken

Your journalistic skills this year have been very impressive and I’m proud to say I am now a paying subscriber. Here’s to more exposing of the corrupt government and the gerontocracy in 2025 🥂

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Thank you! Happy Holidays to you as well. Hopefully I'll get some time to enjoy them but these crazy stories keep falling into my lap lol

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I appreciate how you put a torch to the how to win friends and influence people style of journalism.

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it's a bullshit approach premised on the assumption that you can't get scoops any other way. i'm proof positive that's fault!

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I’ve just recently started following you, and this kind of coverage and your journalistic integrity has turned me into a paid subscriber, Ken. Please keep up the good, hard work. We need you.

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Thanks Dan!

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Pretty soon they will need to add an ALF/memory care wing inside the Capitol.

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ill it be called: Geriatrics Anonymous?

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Been subscribed, stay subscribed

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What good are sources if you never do any reporting? I'm also curious how hard these octogenarians bite. I find myself longing for the days of the muckraker and their political insiders. Do these young politicians, such as they exist, not have the stomach for the true pursuit of power? It seems if they did, they would be leaking and lobbing this stuff to the press like full Depends, throwing the sunsetting careers of these Boomers under the duallies of their transport vans.

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To be clear, by "you", I meant the reporter Ken referenced. Ken is doing the proper reporting, which is why I subscribe.

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Paid subscription is worth it for so many reasons but reading phrases like Mothball Mafia make it extra worth it

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:)

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Excellent reporting. Who in the Texas delegation, of which Granger is the "dean" knew about her absence and relocation to Assisted Living? Who in the GOP House caucus knew why she'd been absent and where she was? When she stepped down as Chair of House Appropriations (!) last spring, who on the Hill knew about her health? Having appointed herself House Appropriations Chair Emerita, ready and eager to assist the new Committee Chair, what did she do in this regard? Does the new (returning) Chair, Tom Cole, have any comment about his mid-cycle ascension to Chair in April of this year?

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Also: Granger was in DC last month (there's pictures here: https://appropriations.house.gov/news/blogs/members-celebrate-texas-tough-kay-granger) for an event on Capitol Hill to celebrate her tenure and unveil her Chair Portrait. All the members of GOP House leadership attended and celebrated her service.

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